A progressive dinner

For a few years now, the ladies at our church organize a progressive dinner.

This happened a while back.  

We had another one - a little late posting!

I LOVE progressive dinners!  Thank you, girls for planning these!      

  Here is Andrea making strawberry soup as our 1st course - the appetizer.

 

  

 (thank you, Jessica, for these pictures!)

We were given assignments as to which homes we would be going to.  I was in group #1.

Read about group #2 here.

Our first home was to Carinda's.  She helps in the nursery, so I knew her, but I did not know her room-mate.



We had a delicious salad and bread at her home.

Next course - main dish at Kay's home.  I learned some new things about Kay.  She has had an interesting life, having lived in 4 countries other than the States!

We ate on her covered back porch.  Lovely!

 For dessert, we went to Janice's home.

We took turns sharing about ourselves.

Such interesting things!

Because at church, often it is a "Hi, how are you?" situation, many of these women I did not know very well.  Going to a progressive dinner helps one find out about others.

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, 

because love covers a multitude of sins. 

Be hospitable to one another without complaint. 

1 Peter 4:8,9

Cairns

The dictionary defines a "cairn" as a heap of stones piled up as a memorial or as a landmark.

My brother has some cool ones at his place!

 When we went hiking in Southern Utah, we relied on these so we wouldn't lose our way.

Isaiah 30:21 says Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Daily, we have God to show us the way to go.  We need to follow His Word, His guidance. 

Or you will be like some people we saw at the top of the ridge yelling down to us "How do you get there?  We are lost!"  We had to tell them to back up and find a pile of rocks and follow each cairn they would see.

The path He has for us may not be easy, but if we follow Him, it will bring us peace and joy!

We brought back a few of the stones (not off other cairns - we wouldn't want people to get lost!).  We made our own cairns to our front door.

One lady who visited wanted to know what these were about.  She was thinking it was some New Age thing.  And often they are used in that way, but I choose to use them to represent following Christ.

 I found this idea on Pinterest and found it humorous.  A little foot.

When you come to our home, we have some cairns to show you the way to our front door.

Sometimes cairns were monuments, like in the Bible where the Israelites put up a monument of stones to commemorate what the Lord had done for them.

Joshua 4:1-7
Now when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying,  “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.’” So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; and Joshua said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel.  

“Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.” 




So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.  You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.
Deuteronomy 5:32-33

Two!

On the morning of Claire's 2nd birthday, there was a beautiful sunrise!

It had followed a very noisy overnight storm.

I went to the kids' church.  Darn camera phone didn't get a good shot, but Adam and his sister Staci, visiting from Ohio (can I say that?  She is a traveling gypsy!  She's been in 37 countries and 5 continents!) sang a most wonderful song that sent chills down my body.   "God with Us" by All Sons and Daughters.

Later that day we had 

                  Claire's birthday celebration -

 Hannah designed this easel board that welcomed us at the front door.  Didn't she do a good job??

It was also Father's Day! besides Claire's birthday.

So, before celebrating the birthday, we went to the office to see a video that Hannah spent hours putting together.  Pictures of her daddy and each of the girls put to the music  "Daddy's Girl".  So sweet!  Hannah has a real talent!!

Gifts were given to each of the Dads - Adam, Warren and Allen.

 Al and his precious daughters.  Our son lives far away and was not there, but he did call later on to wish his dad a happy father's day also.

Birthday party time!  Time to celebrate!!

Claire wanted a Dora birthday party.

 The pizza was not quite ready, so we decided to open gifts first.  We were ready for the party to commence!

 

Adam's mom helped Sophie and Hannah sew these teddies for Claire.

 They did a great job!

For dinner, we had delicious home-made pizza (chicken artichoke, pepperoni and cheese), fruit cups and 7-layer salad.

Claire ate only a little.  

"All done!!.....CAKE...CAKE!!!"

We told her she had to wait until everyone was finished with supper.

Watch this!

When the party was finished, we gave our good bye kisses and took mom back to her place.  She asked Allen to come in to the garage for a moment.  He often helps her out so he thought nothing of it.  But we had a surprise for him!!

Ha ha!  Look at his BIG eyes!!

"What did you do??"

He was shocked to find that we got him a Stihl chain saw!

(thanks Dan Prier for your help letting me know what was the best one to get.  Al LOVES this!!)

Celebrations are such fun!!